Harry Kane equalled England’s men’s appearance record and scored twice as Thomas Tuchel’s side beat the Czech Republic 3-0 at Wembley to make it three Nations League victories in a row.
The England captain won his 125th cap, drawing level with Peter Shilton, and took his international goals tally to 91. The result leaves England second in Group A3 with nine points from four matches, three behind Spain.
England had lost 3-2 to world champions Spain in their opening fixture before recording victories over the Czech Republic in Prague and Croatia. Tuchel made four changes from the team that defeated Croatia 7-0, with Anthony Gordon and Bukayo Saka among those rested.
Trent Alexander-Arnold returned at right-back for his first England appearance at Wembley in two years and nearly made an immediate impact, forcing a save from Lukas Hornicek with an early free-kick.
Morgan Rogers was prominent as England looked to break through, although the hosts created few clear openings before taking the lead in unusual circumstances in the 27th minute. Vladimir Coufal inadvertently turned Kane’s cross into his own net.
Elliot Anderson then sent a shot over the bar, but England doubled their advantage shortly before half-time through Kane. Anderson released Rogers on the right, and his first-time delivery found the advancing Bayern Munich forward, who completed the move.
Kane came close to adding another soon after the interval when he clipped the crossbar, but he did not have to wait long for his second. In the 57th minute, he headed Lewis Hall’s corner into the net at the far post.
Tuchel made several substitutions but kept Kane on as he pursued a hat-trick. The striker was eventually replaced by Dominic Calvert-Lewin with less than 10 minutes remaining, leaving the pitch to a standing ovation after receiving an embrace and pat on the back from the manager.
Spain strengthened their position at the top of the group by coming from behind to beat Croatia 2-1 on Tuesday. England’s top-two position would secure a place in the Nations League quarter-finals in March.
For Kane, the evening marked another milestone 11 years after he scored 79 seconds into his England debut, with the record-equalling appearance celebrated by a performance that maintained his international scoring form.
